• Question: How is electric made?

    Asked by issi2001 to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 2 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: Michael Cook

      Michael Cook answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      Electricity can be generated in a lot of different ways!

      One common method involves metal and a magnet. Scientists like Michael Faraday discovered that if you wind up wire into a coil (a spring-like shape) and move a magnet through the coil, you get an electric charge running through the wire!

      This was a pretty amazing discovery. Over time they found ways to make it more efficient, make more powerful amounts of electricity, and make different kinds of electrical current. We still use this basic idea in a lot of power stations today.

    • Photo: Emma Trantham

      Emma Trantham answered on 5 Jul 2012:

      An electric current is basically the movement of tiny particles that are charged (so either positive or negative – mostly negative).

      As Mike said there are lots of different ways to bring about this movement.

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